Republicans are LOSING!

I agree with you. 

The thing that has turned me off more than anything is that these idiot "tea party" republicans appeared to have no plan at all.  I liken it to inmates who take over a prison in a riot and don't know what to ask for....it's ridiculous.

When you couple that with the idea that there is sufficient support in the House for the budget to be approved and the debt ceiling raised and Bonehead, oh, wait, Boehner, won't allow a vote, and it becomes really dumb for the republicans.

Way to screw up any chance of not having Billary as our next president.....hope ya'll are proud. Friggin' morons!

Firstly, we're ALL losing.  The Republicans are just doing it in the least popular way.

I was thinking about this the other night.  I actually got a little excited that, for the first time in recent history, I felt like there was a decent chance that we could see a three-party system.

The Republican leadership, which I view as (comparatively) moderate, should take this opportunity to divest themselves of the Tea Party.   They are clearly a minority within the party. with JUST enough pull to really, really cause a stink.

If the Tea Party were no longer considered to be "Republican" then it would give the more moderate Republican party much more room to negotiate with the Dems.

It all depends on what the Dem reaction to this would be. A shift to center in order to work with Republicans to get the majority of their agenda implemented = good.  A staunch left stance saying "we're big, you're small, you have to do what we say" = bad.

My current view is that the Tea Party(and by extension, Republican) agenda is a short-term disaster but long-term boon for our country.

The Democrat agenda is a short-term boon and long-term disaster for our country.

There is no way forward without some level of pain for our citizens.  

We need a "shift to center" if we're going to spread the pain out to as many people as possible (so that it hurts everyone equally.)

That's exactly my issue.  Hell, we were all losing BEFORE this started.....why did the Republicans have to prop themselves up as even dumber than this President? The perception was rolling along that Obama and the Dems weren't the answer....there was a chance for 2016 to go for the Republican nomination.....a great chance.

You can't make it up. 

Now what?  Cruz vs. Clinton in 2016?  Watch and see......these people are THAT stupid.

What do you mean by that.....you lost me.  Not being sarcastic, trying to understand.

But he CAN allow a vote, right?  If it's an "informal governing principle" it's not a law. 

yup. 

Look, like I have posted, we are affected economically in our family by this....and that's fine....we're fine.  But the damage they are doing to any hope of a Republican win in '16 is NOT fine with me.....it's ridiculously stupid.  I won't even vote for these dumbarses if this is all they've got. 

Bluffing without even holding a pair, while looking wild eyed, will always be a losing hand. Geez.....really??

I've had a couple of different thoughts on this.  On one hand, everyone is telling us the Republicans are "losing", but if that's the case then why is every Democrat talking head trying to get them to stop doing what they're doing?   If your opponent is destroying any chance they have of winning anything in the future then you let them keep doing it.  However, the Dems are desperately trying to get them to stop.  So, based on actions, I'm not 100% convinced they are losing.

That being said, my thoughts on the whole shutdown is to get out of the way of the train wreck.  If the ACA is as bad as they think it is, then get out of the way and let it crash.  If everything goes nuclear next year then the Repubs win in a landslide in the mid terms and are in a very good spot in 2016.

I like Ted Cruz a lot and I am looking forward to him running in 2016.  We sit back and whine about Washington spending money like drunk sailors and the machine being horribly broken.  However, when somebody has the courage to stand up and try and stop the machine, both sides attack him.  It's the whole reason the machine keeps running the way it does.  Cruz is about responsible government spending and civil liberties, and those are what both sides of the political spectrum need.

Also, the budget isn't the issue, IMHO.  The debt ceiling is where the real battle is going to be.  I'm guessing the Republicans will try to sign on to any budget that's balanced so the debt doesn't increase anymore.  I'm also guessing the Democrats will never sign onto a budget that isn't far greater than our revenues because the ACA is a big part of that overage.

So, the fun is just getting started.

Oh, I don't know....maybe Because they (Repubs) are threatening to cripple an already struggling economy.   

BTW:  I have friends who are hurting because of this shutdown.  I'm not sure "the fun is just getting started" is an appropriate remedy to their families suffering.

edited to change "Fun" quotation

Great question, but really democrats should be asking themselves the same thing.

I know people who have voted straight down party lines for over 20 years who are saying they won't vote for a single incumbent in the next election, and I am one of them.

I have been on the Democrats Hope Spam list since Obama was first elected.  I hadn't stopped the emails because they would occasionally alert me to things I wanted to read more about.  The shutdown was the final straw. When I "unsubscribed" they offered a comments section, and I unleashed.

I don't know if anyone actually reads those, but if the democrats really think they can ask me for another $3 donation while the government is shutdown, and they're all acting like insolent brats, they can freakin suck it.  I'm done.

And if they need yet ANOTHER hole in their boat; The rollout for ACA has been nothing short of a dismal failure. 

But NOBODY is talking about it-because we're watching Ted Cruz, Mike Lee (is there a dumber US Senator?) and Boehner trade the spotlight and media reels for their "Grand Bargain".  By the time this thing is settled, ObamaCare will likely have alot of it's technical glitches solved and be fairly integrated into public perception. 

And I really, I mean REAAALLLYYYY, hope Ted Cruz runs in 2016.  (I wonder if Fleetwood Mac would reunite for the inaguration).

BTW, you should be really happy that the Republicans are doing this.  

I'm also with Switch.  There are a lot of negative polls out against the Republicans, but there are just as many against the Democrats.  It's easy to say people hate the republicans a little more so the Dems are winning, but they're really both losing.

#throwthebumsout

I'm not 'happy' about the impact it's having.

(bold text) Complete Agreement

I fault the Republicans, and specifically the Tea Party, for initiating this debacle, but both parties are at fault for allowing it to continue. When you have nothing to lose personally, you have no real skin in the game. Rather than spending a few hours a day posturing and spitting out sound bites for the media before retiring to private health clubs and dining rooms, lock them in a DC High school gym with folding chairs, set the thermostat to 80, and let them sweat out an agreement.

Meanwhile, in my little corner of the universe, I am furious that because of these morons NIH scientists are forced to euthanize their very expensive transgenic mice, as they can't properly be taken care of during the shutdown. This will set back medical research by months, if not years.

Seriously, that is an amazing amount of time and money down the drain--TAXPAYER $$$, and we all know grant money ain't gettin reimbursed.

Originally posted by switch

Originally posted by BrianRunsPhilly

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by jeffnboise

And if they need yet ANOTHER hole in their boat; The rollout for ACA has been nothing short of a dismal failure. 

But NOBODY is talking about it-because we're watching Ted Cruz, Mike Lee (is there a dumber US Senator?) and Boehner trade the spotlight and media reels for their "Grand Bargain".  By the time this thing is settled, ObamaCare will likely have alot of it's technical glitches solved and be fairly integrated into public perception. 

And I really, I mean REAAALLLYYYY, hope Ted Cruz runs in 2016.  (I wonder if Fleetwood Mac would reunite for the inaguration).

BTW, you should be really happy that the Republicans are doing this.  

I'm also with Switch.  There are a lot of negative polls out against the Republicans, but there are just as many against the Democrats.  It's easy to say people hate the republicans a little more so the Dems are winning, but they're really both losing.

#throwthebumsout

I fault the Republicans, and specifically the Tea Party, for initiating this debacle, but both parties are at fault for allowing it to continue. When you have nothing to lose personally, you have no real skin in the game. Rather than spending a few hours a day posturing and spitting out sound bites for the media before retiring to private health clubs and dining rooms, lock them in a DC High school gym with folding chairs, set the thermostat to 80, and let them sweat out an agreement.

Meanwhile, in my little corner of the universe, I am furious that because of these morons NIH scientists are forced to euthanize their very expensive transgenic mice, as they can't properly be taken care of during the shutdown. This will set back medical research by months, if not years.

Woah, I hadn't heard about that. PITA will have a field day with that

Seriously, that is an amazing amount of time and money down the drain--TAXPAYER $$$, and we all know grant money ain't gettin reimbursed.

PETA. I'm not so sure how those mice would taste with a little hummus and falafel

yea that AND the Congressional gym is going without towel service.

Originally posted by switch

Originally posted by BrianRunsPhilly

Originally posted by switch

Originally posted by BrianRunsPhilly

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by jeffnboise

And if they need yet ANOTHER hole in their boat; The rollout for ACA has been nothing short of a dismal failure. 

But NOBODY is talking about it-because we're watching Ted Cruz, Mike Lee (is there a dumber US Senator?) and Boehner trade the spotlight and media reels for their "Grand Bargain".  By the time this thing is settled, ObamaCare will likely have alot of it's technical glitches solved and be fairly integrated into public perception. 

And I really, I mean REAAALLLYYYY, hope Ted Cruz runs in 2016.  (I wonder if Fleetwood Mac would reunite for the inaguration).

BTW, you should be really happy that the Republicans are doing this.  

I'm also with Switch.  There are a lot of negative polls out against the Republicans, but there are just as many against the Democrats.  It's easy to say people hate the republicans a little more so the Dems are winning, but they're really both losing.

#throwthebumsout

I fault the Republicans, and specifically the Tea Party, for initiating this debacle, but both parties are at fault for allowing it to continue. When you have nothing to lose personally, you have no real skin in the game. Rather than spending a few hours a day posturing and spitting out sound bites for the media before retiring to private health clubs and dining rooms, lock them in a DC High school gym with folding chairs, set the thermostat to 80, and let them sweat out an agreement.

Meanwhile, in my little corner of the universe, I am furious that because of these morons NIH scientists are forced to euthanize their very expensive transgenic mice, as they can't properly be taken care of during the shutdown. This will set back medical research by months, if not years.

Woah, I hadn't heard about that. PITA will have a field day with that

Seriously, that is an amazing amount of time and money down the drain--TAXPAYER $$$, and we all know grant money ain't gettin reimbursed.

PETA. I'm not so sure how those mice would taste with a little hummus and falafel

Faching autocorrect.

And I just couldn't resist. It's like a Congressman with a smart phone and a full-length mirror (tying in Sous' comment)